


The Temptation of Immediate Relief

by voidify



Category: Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
Genre: (which he thinks are unrequited at this point but I mean... we’ve all read the book), F/M, Gen, Missing Scene Fic, POV Darcy, Regency, Wickham is the worst, passing mention of Darcy’s feelings for Lizzie, rated T for vague sexual references, written for school
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-11
Updated: 2020-01-11
Packaged: 2021-02-27 12:01:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,046
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22206793
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/voidify/pseuds/voidify
Summary: Darcy rescues the Bennet name from a certain scoundrel through the art of financial persuasion.
Relationships: Lydia Bennet/George Wickham
Comments: 4
Kudos: 33





	The Temptation of Immediate Relief

**Author's Note:**

> This was originally written for an English assignment in my final year of high school; we had to write a missing scene fic for P&P in an Austen-like style. Now, a year later, I figured I might as well post it here, since it’s technically a fic, and the teacher liked it! This is actually the “extended cut”, so to speak; the assignment had a 600 word limit, so I had to cut a few narrative beats there which I’ve added back in here.
> 
> (Title is a quote from chapter 52 of the book, when Mrs Gardiner is recounting these very events)

Mr. Darcy arrived at the residence where Mr. Wickham and Lydia Bennet were hiding. Mrs. Younge had initially been reluctant to divulge the pair’s location to Darcy— but after some time, and money, she had yielded. 

“Mr. Darcy.” There was a glint of surprise in Wickham’s eyes as he opened the door.

“Mr. Wickham.” Darcy’s eyes, on the other hand, betrayed nothing but loathing.

Darcy’s first objective, of course, was to convince the young Miss Bennet to return to her friends in Brighton and forget Wickham— but she would hear none of it. She did not care one jot for her friends, nor for returning to the status quo— she was utterly convinced that her ‘dear Wickham’ _would_ marry her, and that the wedding would be _soon_ , and that Darcy should not insult her dear love so, as he _was_ going to marry her, and she loved him as she had never loved another. Darcy gleaned several facts from this spiel, all of which corroborated his conclusion: that the only honourable course of action could be to ensure the wedding.

Darcy then requested to speak with Wickham alone. He began by stating plainly that he knew Wickham had no intent of marriage. Some might have considered his acute bluntness unseemly, perhaps, but in these circumstances, there was no cause to equivocate; Darcy knew exactly what kind of man Wickham was, and moreover, knew him to be incapable of improvement.

“Ah, I see you are as forthright about your views as ever, Fitzwilliam. I suppose, given the past, there is no chance I could sway you to believe otherwise?”

“There is not.”

“Then, you are correct. Though, I am certain you have gathered that the girl would never believe such _slanders_ about her _dear Wickham_.”

“Indeed, I have— and given this, you have no cause to refrain from answering my further questions _truthfully_. First— was this based upon a similar design towards the Bennet name, as the attempt at Georgiana had been towards the Darcy name?”

“What business have you with the Bennet name?—but no, in all honesty, it was not. I already intended to leave the regiment— some debts, you see— but when I suggested elopement on a whim, she accepted _far_ too easily. Really, though I cannot take credit for such a _design_ , I must confess I would not feel a very great deal of remorse were it a _consequence_ — it was _her_ who was foolish enough to grant my every request.”

If duelling had not been an outdated and illegal practice, Wickham’s utter lack of shame might have prompted Darcy to demand satisfaction then and there. However, Darcy intended to reach an arrangement, not to risk death— and as such, he instead gritted his teeth and maintained the appearance of civility. “Had I not found you, what would you have done? Where would you have gone?”

Wickham paused— he soon injected an air of charismatic nonchalance into that pause, but Darcy did not fail to notice the first split-second of it; he understood full well that Wickham had been caught off-guard. Then, with a _quite_ deliberately nonchalant half-shrug, and in a tone that would have convinced near anyone but Darcy to dismiss the matter as unimportant, Wickham responded, “…I was still in the process of determining that matter.” 

From this, Darcy understood Wickham to be penniless, with nowhere in particular to go. 

“In _that_ case— why _not_ marry her, especially when she is so convinced you will do so? Your situation would be bettered to _some_ degree, at least.”

Wickham laughed. “You have said the reason yourself. How could I ever be content to confine myself to a wife for only _some_ degree of betterment? I would need ten or twenty times the paltry dowry of a Miss Bennet, at _least_ , to even _consider_ the notion.”

At last, Darcy had found what he was seeking. Wickham had plainly admitted to being financially driven— and, given his situation and character, it was highly unlikely he would have any scruples as to the source of the money. It was Darcy’s own fault that Wickham’s true nature had not been more widely known— therefore, he would pay to remedy the consequence. It was only right.

The magnitude of Wickham’s starting demand drew out the negotiation process, but a number acceptable to both parties was eventually reached (although, in Darcy’s opinion, it was still far more than Wickham _deserved_ ). Wickham, more than once, repeated his query as to Darcy’s stake in the Bennet family’s reputation, and Darcy, each time, redirected the conversation. Darcy would never deign to give _Wickham_ access to such sensitive information— and besides, the expression on Wickham’s face seemed to indicate he already had some inkling. 

Once Wickham’s price was decided, Darcy turned his attentions to persuading Mr. Gardiner to take credit for the contribution. This was an unexpectedly arduous process, but Darcy eventually prevailed— after all, if he was magnanimous to the Bennets under his own name, his intentions would never be believed selfless. Yes, perhaps Elizabeth _was_ the reason Darcy wished to clear the Bennet name— but this good deed had never been some sort of rakish bid for her affections!—and if Darcy’s involvement was known, that would doubtless be the motivation presumed by all— so, he could not allow such ideas to spread.

As soon as was possible, the wedding took place. Darcy attended, as he understood well that Wickham could not be trusted to hold his end of the bargain unsupervised. 

Before making arrangements to leave London, Darcy intended to take a second measure to disguise his participation in the matter. However, this was rendered redundant, when an eavesdropped conversation revealed another man to have, for some reason, taken the very same course of action that he had set upon. 

“Now, my dear, you must not mention that Mr. Darcy was involved in the wedding proceedings; it is to be a secret.”

“A secret!—oh Lord, how I love secrets!—yes, of course, I promise to never tell any person in the world!”

As Darcy was of reasonable intelligence, he could easily predict that this promise would not be fulfilled. However, there was very little that could be done by anyone to change that; Darcy’s part here was complete.

**Author's Note:**

> Why did Wickham do that at the end? Honestly, my guess is as good as yours. An attempt to cover up that he had to be bribed down the aisle? He knows that Darcy did this because of Lizzie, but is one dimension of chess behind Darcy, and thus is trying to sabotage what he assumes to be Darcy’s gallant show-off moment? Plain old chaotic-evil chaos? Could be any of those, or a mixture, but whatever it is, he canonically did it, according to something Lydia says in the book when she spills the news to Lizzie. 
> 
> Kudos are great; comments are even better!
> 
> And to my high school English teacher, if you’re reading this, thanks once more for being a great teacher.


End file.
